Want to find out about a movie before you spend your hard-earned money on it? MovieReviewMaven will tell you the good, the bad, the ugly and the inspiring, so you can decide if it's right for you or your family.

Saturday, December 24, 2016

Passengers explores outer space and the inner heart

In a Nutshell: While some movie critics have argued that
this film is tedious and boring, I would contend that the film intentionally captures
a little bit of what it must feel like to be stranded alone on a spaceship like
that. That’s the point. We need each other. Life is meaningless, unless we have someone
to share it with.

I enjoyed the movie and tried to imagine myself in the same
situations, wondering what I would do when faced with the same decisions. It’s a movie less about discovering the great
spaces in the universe, but more about humanity and what we find inside our
heart.

Uplifting theme:

“We
all have dreams. We plan our
futures like we’re captains of our fate, but we’re passengers. We go where fate takes us.” - Aurora

“You
don’t have to do something amazing to be happy.” – Aurora’s best friend. (The actress’ real name is Aurora!)

You
can’t get hung up on where you’d rather be that you don’t appreciate where
you are.

“Take
a break from what you can’t control.” – Arthur (Michael Sheen)

Humanity,
companionship, sacrifice, love.

Things I liked:

Chris
Pratt and Jennifer Lawrence are two of the most popular actors in
Hollywood right now and I liked them together. They’re both extremely
talented and charismatic.

Incredible
views of space. The CGI and real
life are blended very well.

I wish
I had that body scanner/repair machine!
I’d also like one of those Roomba-type floor vacuum robots!

Jim
eats dragon fruit for breakfast. It’s
that super alien-looking pink fruit cut in a square that is white on the
inside with black polka dots on the inside. Try some!

It’s really
good in 3D and on the big screen.

I
loved that swimming pool with a view!
It was pretty crazy when the anti-gravity kicked in.

Aurora
is a writer, which always catches my attention (my 21st book
was just hit store shelves this month!)

Aurora
says, “Give me a cup of coffee and a view of the Chrysler building and I can write all day.”
Jim provides that for her in a way which I thought was so sweet. It’s those simple acts of kindness and
thoughtfulness for another person that is the essence of love.

Things I didn’t like:

What
you see in the trailer is what you get.

Some
movie critics have said the film looks like it’s on auto-pilot.

If
they told this story in a different order, it could have been even more
interesting.

The “thing”
that happens in the third act is super brief. I wish it had been explored more.

SPOILER
ALERT: I thought it was odd to cast Andy Garcia, because he didn’t even
have a line in the movie; any Extra could have done as good a job in that
spot.

This
movie script sat for a long time before anyone picked it up, making you
wonder what other directors could have done with it.